Abstinence Advocate Warns of Negative Consequences Following Explicit Play

by Jim Brown
February 19, 2004

(AgapePress) - A pro-family physician in Massachusetts says the fallout from a sexually explicit play performed at a local public high school could be devastating.

Last weekend, much to the dismay of concerned parents, students and staff at Amherst Regional High School performed The Vagina Monologues on their campus. The play contains feminist and homosexual themes as well as graphic content. One of the play's highlights involves the simultaneous chanting of the word "vagina" by a bunch of young feminists holding hands and seeking unity.

Dr. John R. Diggs, a Christian speaker on youth and sex-related issues, says the play not only denigrates the entirety of a woman to a single anatomical part, it also serves the interest of sexual predators as well as those who do not understand that sex has more than just a physical component.

"The reason that's of value to this type of person is because when you have something that's only an object, you can abuse it any way you want to," Diggs says. "You can lie to it, you don't have to have a relationship with it, and when you're finished, all you have to do is discard it. And this play, when it takes this approach, actually denigrates women and reduces them to an object and makes it easier for people to use them."

The father of three girls says ironically the play deals with the issue of violence against women -- yet the title itself objectifies them. That, he says, could have a damaging effect on the community because it changes the topics that students talk about.

"Suddenly [the students are] talking about monologues and anatomical genitals instead," he explains. "So then, if someone makes a comment about some girl's monologue or about some part of her anatomy, the precedent has already been set by the people who are their authority figures -- the principal, the teachers, the superintendent who allowed this play to go on.

"Even worse is that they're doing this against the desires of parents," the physician says. "Many parents have voiced objections."

The aftermath of the play, Diggs says, may be "legally actionable."